Cannabis has a long and interesting history. You can buy it legally now in any Los Angeles dispensary, but what do you really know about it? There is much to learn, and for most, the journey is an exciting one. Weed museums are gaining popularity. Folks are visiting them for a variety of reasons, and leaving better for it. An experience immersive, interactive, and very educational. It will also make you stoned.
Why Weed Museums?
Learning about cannabis, its history and uses, demystifies this long misunderstood plant. Its story comes filled with people of high interest. Stoners, growers, and activists: All risked themselves to spread the word of cannabis and its benefits, despite, and often in spite of, decades of prohibition by overreaching government. Their stories are on display; along with plenty weed culture, science, history, and more:
Learn the Cannabis Story
For the longest time, a century or more, the world’s most infamous plant has had a historically bad reputation. 100 years of misinformation, propaganda, and outright lies manipulated the way society saw cannabis. It gave this good plant several false stereotypes and created negative stigmas over its use. A good weed museum will tell the prohibition story, from its start to modern day legalization and retail.
Educate Yourself
There is more to weed than just getting stoned. Museums will educate you about this wonderful plant. They display a rich wealth of detailed facts about cannabis, willingly sharing this knowledge with you. You can follow an educational journey through various exhibits, some era-specific even, as well as an actually plant laboratory that highlights the following, and more:
- You can find an interactive display of terpenes, one that actually allows you to smell firsthand the different terpenes found in cannabis, which gives plants their specific aromas and flavors.
- A digital display of the endocannabinoid system, which, according to the S. National Library of Medicine, is the body’s own mechanism that interacts with cannabinoids to give you its many and varied effects, such as its medical properties, its “high,” and its euphoric bliss.
- A discussion of cannabis and its future, such as how extraction techniques create modern products, how to make wax and concentrates, and the many ways you can use and consume marijuana.
Advocate for Legalization
You will not leave a weed museum without championing its widespread legalization nationwide, even worldwide. Visiting these museums will bring out the activist in you. Advocacy is core to these facilities. They teach of generations of artists, activists, even political figures who risked life and limb to spread cannabis knowledge and fight for its legal access. Even during times of oppression and prohibition.
You will learn of famous names, such as “Brownie Mary,” Dennis Peron, and Keith Stroup, leaving familiar with their role in cannabis history. You can even write a letter advocating for pro-weed legislation to elected representatives. Each “Legalization” exhibit displays a legalization map. It provides data on active cannabis users’ nationwide, vote numbers, state laws, and so much more.
Perfect Photo Opportunity
One of the primary attractions of weed museums is the photo opportunities they offer. Perfect for Instagram and social media. The “Instagrammability” of weed museums is among their most defining of characteristics. Snap pics at cultural milestones, important ideas, historical moments, even scientific discoveries. You cannot find such photo opportunities anywhere else. Just no chance of it.
What is more, props are outstanding. There are mirrors galore, colors, protest imagery, black-and-white hallways, and whatever your imagination can inspire. The visuals in these museums deliberately invoke an emotional response at every exhibit, which bodes very well for selfie enthusiasts everywhere. Weed museums offer unique perspectives only photographs can embody forever.
Explore the “Munchies”
Weed museums offer so much more than you would ever find in cafes elsewhere. Designed to satisfy munchies like no other eatery, they provide a culinary experience unmatched anywhere. There are the usual toasted sandwiches, sure, but delights include all manner of tasties to aid your journey through the museum. Parfaits, granolas, noodles, nachos, and tacos, jams: You will not go hungry.
However, unless you are visiting a weed museum inside a venue that has permission for onsite consumption, you will not find cannabis for sale. The Café is unlikely to sell cannabis-infused edibles, buds, or any other weed for use there. You will need to bring your own cannabis and use it discreetly, as required by law. If the venue has license for weed consumption there, then it surely will have for you.
Find Dope Merchandise
Cannabis museums have some unique merchandise for sale. They usually have a gift shop with all manner of custom clothing and cultural souvenirs. You can find hats, sweatshirts, T-shirts, and all types of cannabis accessories you will not find anywhere else. Designs and logos are unique, often featuring aspects of weed past, present, and even future. Books, poster art, even Stationery: You can find it all.
Photographs, books for coffee tables, pots for plants, stickers; these are just some examples. Depending on the museum you are visiting, you will find other custom items unique to that museum. Some of this merchandise tells the cannabis story, specifically highlighting important parts of its history, crediting activists, and printing historical photographs and imagery.
Show Friends and Family Firsthand
Despite legalization, scientific validation, medical value, and debunked stereotypes, many still have to explain their use to friends and loved ones. Some still hide it from them. Bringing such folks along to visit a weed museum will help them to overcome any related stigmas, teach them about cannabis, and show them its benefits. They can essentially unlearn any misconceptions they may have about weed.
For those tired of defending their use and the many merits of cannabis to those with no clue, a weed museum can prove especially helpful. What is more, it is easier for such folks to disseminate information from reliable sources, such as scientists, than from their weed-loving loved one. They may not believe you when you try to educate them, but they may find it easier to gain knowledge from others.
A Unique Los Angeles Experience
Weed culture is fundamental to Los Angeles life. There is evidence by every cannabis dispensary you see, every weed company offering its services, and every cannabis enthusiast at every corner. A weed museum provides a unique experience, quite exclusive to the Los Angeles cannabis scene. These museums fit right into city culture here, mixing well with the stores and experiences the area does best.